So
CNN is running lots of stories about Michael Brown's e-mails during Hurricane Katrina. The things they're excerpting are interesting, but I didn't think all that unbelievable. So I went to
read the original e-mails for myself.
Three things about the e-mails struck me as beyond unbelievable.
First, in none of the e-mails do we really see Michael Brown respond substantively to any of the concerns. It is Michael Lowder that does.
Second, most of Michael Brown's correspondences were about image. That is probably somewhat understandable given the fact that he was going to be on TV a lot. However, this, from Sharon Worthy is incredibly insensitive:
"Please roll up the sleeves of your shirt... In this crises and on TV you just need to look more hard-working... ROLL UP THE SLEEVES!"
She didn't say, "You're hard working and you ought to look like it." She said, "you need to look more hard-working." Who uses sentence structure like that when they are in fact working hard? She obviously knows something that we didn't at the time.
Moreover, there are several other e-mails, one involving favorite foods, and it's not simply "this is what I'm having tonight" or "will you pick up something for me." That you might expect. No, it's a thread about fast food in Orlando.
Third, is perhaps the most telling and directly from Michael Brown himself. Replying to a friend, he says, "Last hurrah was supposed to have been Labor Day. I'm trapped now, please rescue me." HE'S THE ONE IN NEED OF RESCUING? Sure thing!